Say yes to local tax issues

Thursday

Oct 31, 2013 at 7:33 PM

Local voters will be asked to have their say on a number of local tax issues on the Nov. 16 ballot.

Local voters will be asked to have their say on a number of local tax issues on the Nov. 16 ballot.Each one sees to a vital public need, and each one deserves the voters' support. Most are just renewals of existing taxes, but there are a few new taxes.

Parishwide Proposition would increase in the hotel tax from 4 percent to 5 percent to pay for tourism and recreation.

This is a renewal of the TARC millage, which pays for services for the intellectually and developmentally disabled. It is worded as a new tax to account for the organization's name change from the Terrebonne Association for Retarded Citizens to Terrebonne Arc. It is just a renewal, though, and should be approved

This is a renewal of an existing 7.31-milltax for drainage projects.

This is a renewal of the 0.42-mill tax that pays for the Terrebonne Regional Mental Health Center.

This is a renewal of the 7.5-mill tax that pays for the Terrebonne Parish Council on Aging. It raises $6.1 million a year for services provided to elderly Terrebonne residents.

This is a renewal of the 0.98-mill tax that pays for the operation and maintenance of the Terrebonne Parish youth center.

This is a new 0.96-mill tax that would pay for rehabilitative programs for children in the juvenile justice system.

In addition to the parishwide taxes, there are two Houma taxes on the ballot, both renewals.

This tax renewal would continue a 5.08-mill tax that provides money for the Houma Fire Department to build and operate its facilities and purchase fire trucks and other equipment.

This measure would renew the 5.08-mill tax that helps pay for the Houma Police Department.

There is also a parishwide tax on the ballot for Lafourche Parish voters, and that one, too, deserves support.The parish is proposing reducing the library system's tax by one mill and using the money to build a new jail, which is sorely needed.The library system has a multimillion dollar budget surplus, so the plan will allow Lafourche to build a new, larger jail without imposing a new tax or creating an undue hardship on the library or its users.

Tax elections like this one, with so many issues on the ballot might seem tedious, but each ballot issue represents an important public function that needs your support.Vote yes on these vital issues.Early voting begins on Saturday and continues Monday through Nov. 9. You can vote early at your registrar of voters office from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. If you don't get a chance to vote early, you can head to the polls in person on Nov. 16.

Editorials represent the opinions ofthe newspaper, not of any individual.

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